


Setting the Sun

by classy_but_sad



Category: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra | Phantom of the Opera - Gaston Leroux, Phantom of the Opera - Lloyd Webber
Genre: F/M, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-25
Updated: 2016-12-04
Packaged: 2018-07-26 16:47:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7582024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/classy_but_sad/pseuds/classy_but_sad
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Christine Daaé and Raoul de Chagny attempted to start a life together when something between them just didn't seem to work out. Raoul's actions made Christine wish she could leave, but her wish was granted when an unexpected bit of news came her way. Christine immediately set off to find Erik Destler when she heard the news, and she found something even more surprising.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> This work is a collaboration between myself and mikgif4everr on Wattpad. It will also be published on her Wattpad account.  
> This was edited by makeawish-aesthetic on Tumblr, but due to time constraints, there may still be a few errors.

"Erik is dead."

Only three weeks had passed since Nadir and Erik last exchanged glances when those unlucky three words were published in _L'Epoque_. The words burned themselves into Christine's mind as she read them, but she still could not believe what she was reading. She knew that she must find Erik's body and bury him with the ring just as he had told her to, but how would she explain that to Raoul? 

Raoul and Christine married on the same night that Erik released them on, but their relationship grew unhealthy in a matter of days. Christine was paranoid about every noise she heard, thanks to her experience with the Lover of Trapdoors. This drove Raoul to the point of becoming an alcoholic, which only resulted in domestic abuse towards Christine. While he was sober, he was depressed and payed very little attention to Christine, but when he was drunk, he was a true monster. He treated Christine as a slave, and hit her if she wasn't submissive.

Christine feared for her life that she would be caught during the process of burying Erik. If Raoul found out that she went back to him while he was drunk, he would cause her great amounts of pain. But, regardless of the danger, Christine continued in the direction of the Rue Scribe and intended to secretly put her Angel to rest.

"Is that you, my Angel?" Christine heard someone say as she walked over to the area where she would find Erik.

"Erik? I thought you were dead," Christine said as she approached what seemed like the living corpse of Erik Destler. 

"I heard from a small voice in town that you have been treated with injustice. Is that true, my Angel?" Erik questioned.

"Well, yes, I have not been treated very nicely by the one that was supposed to love me, but may I just ask, why did the paper say that you were dead if you are standing before me?" Christine replied, further proving her paranoia.

"I faked my death so that I could run away and live free," Erik began. "If you are being treated unfairly, you are more than welcome to come with me, love."

That was an offer that Christine simply could not refuse. Raoul and Christine were legally divorced and Raoul was charged for domestic abuse. But, Christine still feared that Raoul would somehow find her and cause her more suffering.

Two months after running away from all the chaos, Erik and Christine were secretly wed. The ceremony took place beside a beautiful tree hidden far in the wilderness. It was short and simple, but still very intimate.

"Opera Ghost, The Lover of Trapdoors, The World's Greatest Ventriloquist, Angel of Music, Erik Destler...no matter what title you go by, I will always find the best quality in you to fall in love with," Christine said as she finished her vow. 

"Call me what ever you please, my Angel," Erik said. And with that, Erik slipped the golden ring onto Christine's small finger and they shared a short yet intimate kiss underneath the tree. 

~

"Where would you like to go for our honeymoon, my Angel?" Erik said to Christine as she walked down their beautiful new staircase. 

"I'm not quite sure yet, but our wedding was only a few days ago. Shouldn't we wait a little while?" She replied softly.

"I was looking forward to going soon, but I only want to make you happy," Erik said after a long pause. He looked up into Christine's beautiful eyes.

"I don't mind if we go now, but I just wanted to relax in our new house for a little while longer," she said, her voice fading out by the last word. She turned towards the window and yawned. 

"Erik, how about we talk about this another time. I am very tired after this long day."

Erik walked over to where Christine was standing and kissed her cheek softly.

"That is fine with me. I can tell that you are really tired."

Christine turned and faced Erik. With only inches between them, she kissed him directly where is lips should be.

"Goodnight, my love."

"Goodnight, Angel."

When Erik finally fell asleep, the old grandfather clock was about to ring for 11:30 pm. He thought about where he might want to go for their honeymoon. For Christine's safety, he figured that they should go somewhere far away and secluded.


	2. Fears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christine and Erik's biggest fears are revealed to each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by mikgif4everr on Wattpad and edited by myself and makeawish-aesthetic on Tumblr.

Christine arose in her bed to see that Erik had already woken up. She smelled fresh coffee brewing in the kitchen. 

She stood up from her beautiful king sized bed and walked into the bathroom. Moments after she entered the room, she heard a knock at the door.

"Is that you, Angel?" she heard Erik say from the other side of the door.

"Yes, obviously. You may come in if you would like," she replied softly.

Erik pushed open the door and saw the beautiful woman that he had fallen in love with.

"How did you sleep, my Angel?" he said.

"I slept fine, thank you for asking," Christine replied. 

Erik began walking towards Christine when she suddenly fell to the ground.

"Angel!"

Erik ran over and placed his hand over her forehead. Her skin was boiling. He lifted her bridle style and walked her over to the bed to place her down gently. He then proceeded to call the doctor, who arrived rather quickly.

"Please, come in," Erik said as he opened the door for the doctor.

The doctor followed Erik into the bedroom and examined over Christine's sleeping body. 

"I need you to tell me what happened, sir," the doctor said as he pulled out a thermometer.

"I am not quite sure," Erik began. "We were standing in the bathroom, when she just collapsed."

As the doctor was examining Christine, Erik sat on the couch and waited impatiently. He was afraid that he would lose his Angel once again. He then let his thoughts take over his mind, and thought about his past. He began to cry for many reasons that he could never explain. He continued to allow his warm tears to flow down his face until he heard the bedroom door open.

"It appears that Christine has come down with a fever," the doctor began, assuring Erik that she would be alright. "Just let her get some rest and she should be better in a few days."

"Thank you so much, sir," Erik said as he shook the doctor's hand.

"Also, she seemed to be a bit tense," the doctor said. "Has she gone through any stress lately?"

"I mean, we are trying to plan our honeymoon at the moment. Would that be something that she would get stressed out over?" Erik replied.

"It might be. Just let her relax and she'll be fine," the doctor said. 

Erik thanked the doctor again and went into the bedroom with Christine after he left. He sat next to her and stoked her hair until 3:12 am when she finally woke up. She looked up and saw Erik asleep in a chair beside her.

"Oh, he is so gentle, kind, and loving to me."

Christine walked over to Erik. She looked at him and giggled softly to herself.

"He looks like a little sleeping puppy."

Erik heard her giggle and woke up right away. He seemed to be very on edge. He quickly pulled Christine into a warm embrace.

"Why are you hugging me?" she asked.

"You scared me. I thought I was going to lose you," Erik replied. He stepped back and looked into her beautiful eyes.

"I'm fine, really. I only passed out," Christine said as a smile grew across her small face.

Erik sighed and looked down. Christine saw that he was about to cry, so she held up his red, puffy face. She removed his mask to reveal the monstrous deformity that caused him to loose everything he loved.

"I love you so much, my Angel of Music," she said softly.

Erik looked directly into her eyes and leaned towards her. He kissed her gently as a single tear ran down his face. Christine kissed him back, and they stayed there for a moment.

"So, do you know where you would like to go yet?" Erik said when Christine finally pulled away from him. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped his arms around her.

"Yes, I believe that i do," she said. She though for a moment. "Could we go to Setting the Sun Island?"

"Yes, I would love that. I have heard many good things about it," Erik said as he yawned. "I'm going to hit the sack, I am tired."

As he turned to crawl into bed, he heard Christine murmur something that he didn't quite catch.

"Can you repeat that, Angel?" he said.

"Could you sit here with me, Erik?" she said softly as she blushed.

Erik smiled, and then walked over the Christine. He picked her up and sat down in the chair with her. Christine pulled a blanket over them and began to cry. She really didn't want him to hear, but she couldn't hold it back.

"Why is my Angel crying?" he said.

Christine then released all of her tears and began to sob. Erik pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her.

"Its okay," he said quietly into her ear.

"I'm crying because I'm afraid, Erik!" she choked out after attempting to talk several times. Erik was alarmed to hear this, as he wants his Angel to be happy and safe. But, instead she was sobbing uncontrollably and afraid of something that he was unaware of in that moment.

"Why are you afraid, my dear?" he questioned as he stroked her hair in an effort to comfort her.

"I'm afraid that Raoul will somehow show up and take me away from you," she said.

Erik kissed her lightly on the cheek.

"That won't ever happen," he replied.

"Okay."

Erik looked down after a few minutes and saw Christine asleep in his arms.

"I'll never let go of you, my Angel."

Soon they were both asleep in each other's arms.


	3. Out of Prison

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nadir Khan visits the Destler house and brings some rather upsetting news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by me and edited by makeawish-aesthetic on Tumblr.

"Erik, do you think that you could make a room in our new house like the torture chamber you had in the house by the lake?" Christine asked as she sat down across from Erik at the kitchen table. They were eating breakfast together just as they always did.

"I suppose so," Erik began. "But it will have to be called something a bit more practical. Something about having a torture chamber in your house just seems a bit psychotic."

"Says the person who lived underneath an opera house and stalked my dressing room for years," Christine replied, jokingly.

"Says the person who married an opera ghost," Erik jokingly snapped back.

"Okay, trapdoor lover. So when will you begin the room?" she asked.

"I should be able to start after our honeymoon," he began. "When would you like to leave?"

"I've thought about that, actually. I've decided that I would like to leave tomorrow. Could you get us a carriage?" Christine replied.

"Sure, I'll have it ready by-" Erik began. He was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Good morning, Erik," said Nadir as he welcomed himself into the Destler house.

"Hello, daroga. What brings you here?" Erik asked.

"Well, It seems as though I've gotten myself into a bit of trouble," Nadir began. "You see, the young man that was locked in the torture chamber with me has broken out of prison."

"That is terrible news," Erik said, hoping that Christine couldn't hear their conversation. "But, why does that put you in trouble?"

"Well, I was out in public getting a drink when I saw him. I walked over to him and started a conversation, as that is what most gentlemen do. But, he seemed to be very drunk, and asked me to gamble," Nadir said. "I politely refused, and said that I would be on my way."

"That seems like a normal situation. Tell me, why are you in trouble, daroga?"

"Here is the part of the story that you may not like," Nadir said. He hesitated to continue.

"Tell me, daroga!"

"Alright, alright. I was talking with my friend Gaston, and the name Christine was somehow brought up into the conversation. Apparently this young man had been listening, because he invited himself into our conversation by saying, 'Do you happen to know where Christine is?' Being the gentleman that he is, Gaston then said, 'Oh, you mean Christine Daae? She is somewhere with the old opera ghost.'" Nadir finished.

"Oh no, does this young man that you speak of happen to go by the name Raoul de Chagney?" Erik questioned, checking to see if Christine was near.

"I believe that he does, sir."

"Daroga, that is the man that dared to harm my poor wife! Does he know where this house is?"

"That's why I'm here," Nadir began. "I tried to stop Gaston, but he continued to give away quite of information to this man."

Erik and the Persian walked into the kitchen and sat at the table with Christine. Erik prayed that Christine hadn't heard the conversation.

"Good morning, Nadir," Christine said. She appeared to know nothing of the conversation that had just taken place.

"Good morning," Nadir said as he shook the young lady's small hand.

"So, Christine, Nadir was just telling me about how beautiful Setting the Sun Island is," Erik said, nervously. He felt guilty telling a lie, but he didn't want her to be suspicious.

"Ah, yes, I love Setting the Sun Island. Are you excited for your trip?" Nadir asked, going along with Erik's lie.

"I am very excited, thanks for asking."

The three enjoyed breakfast together, but Nadir had to leave soon after they had finished. Erik and Christine waved as he headed back to Paris. He had a long trip ahead of him.

"Erik, may I go visit Meg this afternoon?" Christine said quietly.

"Surely," Erik said. He thought for a moment about the way that Christine speaks. "You're always so quiet, Angel. You're just like a mouse."

Christine rolled her eyes and playfully hit Erik's shoulder. She didn't like being called a rodent.

"At least I'm not ugly like a rat," she sneered back at him.

"Hey now, let's not joke about that. You know what I've been through in the past," Erik said calmly.

Erik then gestured for Christine to follow him inside. He was now afraid for what was to come, but he knew that they would be leaving Raoul's destination very soon.


	4. The Boat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erik and Christine pack their things and head towards the boat that will take them to the island.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by mikgif4everr and edited by makeawish-aesthetic on Tumblr.

As soon as Nadir brought Erik the tickets to get into Setting the Sun Island, he and Christine began to pack their belongings. Erik had Nadir slip a note to someone in order to get the best hotel for them to stay in. He only wanted the best things for his Angel. 

When they started to pack, Christine grew anxious about the trip. She couldn't wait to be on the beach with her lover, and possibly have the best honeymoon ever. Erik was more than ready to leave as well. He was afraid that Raoul would find hem and try to take his Angel away, but he what he had to do to keep Christine safe from that monster. He felt bad keeping a secret, but he knew that it was the best thing to do to protect her.

"Are you almost ready to leave?" Erik yelled across the hall to the room that Christine was busy packing in.

"I'm just about finished, my trapdoor lover," she yelled back.

"Alright, but try to hurry. The carriage will be here any minute now," Erik said. He really just wanted to leave before _he_ could get there.

"Okay, I'm ready now," Christine said as she walked out in the most beautiful dress that Erik had ever seen her wearing.

"My God, Christine. You look like a real Angel," Erik said as he walked over to her.

"Thank you," Christine said, blushing.

She leaned in towards Erik and first embraced him. She then reached up and kissed his non-existent lips. Erik kissed back, picked her up, and spun her around.

Together Erik and Christine grabbed their bags and walked outside to wait for the carriage. Erik secretly prayed to himself that no unwelcome guests would show up any time soon.

"Christine!" a voice shouted from around the corner. Erik clenched his fists and pulled Christine a bit closer to him. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Nadir walked around the corner and handed Christine the bouquet of flowers that they had at their wedding ceremony. Erik released his grip and let Christine go and take the flowers.

"I found these last night when I walked past the tree that you married under," Nadir said as the carriage finally pulled around the corner.

"Thank you, Nadir," Erik said as he helped Christine into the carriage. He shot a quick wink at him before he got into the carriage as well.

As the carriage began setting off to it's destination, Nadir quietly entered the Destler house. He had agreed to stay at the house while Erik and Christine were on their honeymoon to fool Raoul. The goal was to make him think that Nadir lived in that house so he would not return there after his first visit.

After being in the carriage for a few minutes, Erik loosed at Christine and questioned why she ever fell in love with him. He also tried to imagine Raoul's thoughts while he was abusing her. How could anyone hurt such a beautiful young woman?

"Why are you staring at me?" Christine said when she saw Erik looking at her. "Haven't you ever seen me wearing a dress before?"

"No, its no that. I was just thinking," Erik said, blushing.

"You're not telling the whole truth," Christine said. She could read the lie on his face.

"Okay," he said, panicking slightly. He worried that she had heard his conversation with Nadir the previous morning. "I was wondering how you could love living corpse like myself."

"You know that I will always love you through everything," Christine said as she turned his face and looked into his devilish eyes.

She pulled herself closer to him and rested her head on his bony chest. Erik was ashamed that he always thought of himself in such a negative way. He rested his hand on her head and began to stroke her hair. Christine soon fell asleep to the slight movements of the carriage.

The carriage followed a the same path all the way to it's destination. The scenery along the way was absolutely gorgeous. They passed a row of trees with pink blossoms growing on them, a pond filled with beautiful aquatic plants, and they even saw a large variety of wildlife. Erik wondered if the scenery would be his favorite part of the whole trip. Even the carriage driver made a few comments on how amazing the view was.

After several hours of the beautiful scenery, the carriage arrived near the ocean that the island was located in. There was a boat waiting for Erik, Christine, and a few other passengers. The boat wasn't very large, but it was suitable.

"We've arrived at the dock," Erik said in an attempt to wake Christine.

"How long was I asleep?" Christine asked as she stood up and smoothed down her dress.

"About three hours," Erik replied.

They grabbed their luggage and boarded the boat. There was a small place to eat on the boat, so they had a quick dinner on the boat. The food was only mediocre, but Erik knew that the food at the island would make up for it.

"Nadir said that we will be sleeping in room F24 tonight," Erik said as they searched for their temporary bedroom.

They successfully found their room and set down their luggage. They didn't bother to unpack as they would be arriving at the island fairly quickly. The room was the same quality as the food, so they didn't bother to stay awake and enjoy it. 

_Croak_

Christine shot awake and looked over at Erik's watch. It was 2 am. What could possibly making croaking noises at such a late hour?

"Did you hear that?" she asked after she shook Erik out of his slumber.

"I didn't hear anything, Christine. Just get some rest."

Christine attempted to fall asleep again, but her curiosity got the best of her. She quietly slipped out of bed and walked across the hall to where the noise came from. 

_Croak_

It seemed to be coming from the room directly across from her's. Peeking in through the small hole on the door, she saw a face that was all to familiar too her. It was the face of the lead soprano from the old opera house.


	5. Old Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erik and Christine meet some of their old friends from the opera house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by me and edited by makeawish-aesthetic on Tumblr.

Christine watched the sun rise from somewhere far beyond the water that surrounded the boat. She had fallen asleep in the chair next to the window after she had finished investigating the strange noise that she had heard. She had wondered how Erik had not heard it, as he seemed to be awake when it sounded for the second time.

"You're awake rather early today," Erik said as he pulled the covers off of his slim body. "Would you like to go down and get some breakfast?"

"I would love to," Christine replied.

Christine quickly slipped into a long pink dress and pinned the sides of her hair out of her face. Erik then followed her down the hallway and down the stairs. They were greeted by a group of familiar faces when they reached the only open restaurant.

"Christine Daae?" asked an old acquaintance from the opera house. "I haven't seen you in a while. Where did you go when you disappeared for the second time?"

"Hello, Richard Firmin. The question isn't where I have gone, but rather, what happened the Compte Phillippe de Chagny?" said Christine, shooting an eyebrow up as she turned to Erik.

"Ah yes, Phillippe. He has been gone since before the Viscount's arrest," Richard began. "Moncharmin has been searching for him since the day he disappeared."

"Well, I'm sure he had something to do with his own disappearance," Erik added, realizing that they were referring to the man that had 'stumbled' into one of his traps.

"That's a possibility," Richard said as he walked over to Erik. "And who might you be?"

"This is my husband," Christine said, covering for Erik. "I met him when I fled from the Viscount."

Suddenly, Carlotta appeared on the staircase. Richard was about to speak, but Carlotta spotted Christine and walked over to the spot where she was standing.

"There she is, the young girl who stole my spotlight!" Carlotta exclaimed. "Now you're here to ruin my vacation!"

"Carlotta please, I'm sure the girl means you no harm," Richard said in an attempt to calm her down. "Besides, she left the opera house a while ago. Every lead role is yours."

"But Richard, look at her. She's here with a man whose face looks as though its made of plastic. This has to be some kind of scheme," Carlotta said.

"This is no scheme, Carlotta. I'm sure that they are just on vacation like everyone else," Richard argued.

Carlotta opened her mouth to speak, but it was not her normal voice that came out. 

_Croak_

Christine suddenly tied together the last loose end. Erik argued that he hadn't heard the noise before because he was the reason for the noise. He was cursing Carlotta with the voice of a frog again.

"You're doing this," Christine whispered to Erik.

"She is a horrible person, Christine," Erik whispered back.

"Its the opera ghost! He's here!" Richard exclaimed.

Carlotta continued croaking and panicking until she, Richard, and a few people who where listening to the conversation all ran up the stairs to find someone to help. A few other people were asking who the opera ghost was.

"Erik, they'll know its you," Christine said.

"No, they won't," Erik began. "I constructed this new human-like mask for this very reason."

Erik and Christine ran upstairs into their room and patiently waited for the chaos to calm down. In that moment, Erik began to doubt faking his death. He knew that by doing so he had saved himself from the mobs and Christine from Raoul's abuse. But, he felt that his real flaw was when he offered for Christine to flee with him. He should have just had Nadir report Raoul's abuse and have him arrested. If Christine had never married him, she may have never been put in danger again.

"You don't love me," Erik began, finally breaking a long moment of silence. "You love your Angel of Music. I cannot be your Angel of Music because my emotions are driven by hate."

"If I didn't love you I wouldn't give you my lips," Christine said, approaching the spot where Erik sat. "Take them."

"Do no act like I haven't heard you say that before," Erik said as he denied the Angel's lips. "You said the same to your fiance of a day on that night where you sat on the roof of the opera house near Apollo's Lyre. You ran away from him after you told him everything that I had done for you, because you were afraid of me then."

Christine was speechless.

"Your silence proves that you would still love him if I hadn't faked my death. You mistook his abuse for love, didn't you? That's not love, Christine! That man didn't love you, he took advantage of you!" Erik exclaimed. 

"You're telling me that his abuse wasn't love, when you tied my wrists so I couldn't kill myself. If you had loved me, you would have let me take my life. If you had loved me, you wouldn't have forced me to come back to you," Christine shot back.

"It amazes me that you have been abused but you still fight back when you upset a demon," Erik said. "Moments like this make me wish you had turned the grasshopper. That way, both of us would have been relieved of these demons."

"You need to choose between consistently being reckless with my emotions, and consistently caring about me. I'm tired of rocking back in forth between feeling loved and feeling used," Christine said as she opened the bedroom door and exited the room.

Erik sat down on the bed. He refused to admit to himself that he was wrong.

"I let her leave with the Viscount to be safe from me, and then I let her leave with me to be safe from the Viscount," Erik said to himself. "It's time for her to do something for me."


	6. Diagnosis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mystery of Christine's fainting is finally recognized as they finally reach Setting the Sun Island.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by me and edited by makeawish-aesthetic on tumblr.

Christine woke up in sleep paralysis. She struggled to move for several minutes, but she felt as though she was being forced against the bed. She tried to speak, but no words came out of her mouth.

"Good morning, Christine," Erik said as she finally gained control over her body and sat up in the bed.

"What happened yesterday?" she asked, having no memory of what happened after she began feeling drowsy.

"You seemingly fainted, so I carried you in here to let you sleep," Erik responded.

"The last thing I remember is feeling extremely drowsy. I tried to fight it, but I couldn't help but fall asleep," Christine said.

"You must have been really tired from defending me," Erik said, smirking. Christine rolled her eyes playfully.

"No matter how much of a bastard you are, I can't deny my love for you," Christine said. It was her way of telling him that she had forgiven him. "I know that you're emotions can get out of control sometimes."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that," Erik began. "Would you like to get some breakfast now?"

Christine took the hand that Erik had held out for her, and they headed down the staircase. When they reached the breakfast line, Christine pinpointed the spot where Firmin Richard was sitting. He seemed to be sitting with a mysterious man reading a newspaper.

"Hello, Richard," Christine said as she approached him. 

Christine sat at the table across from Richard. Erik soon sat next to her with a plate of food.

"Good morning, Miss Daae," Richard said. "I'd like to introduce you to this nice man I met yesterday. His name is Dr. Allocco."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Christine said as she shook his hand. "What brings you here?"

"I'm here to study a few disorders that have been recorded in some of the residents on the island we are headed to," Dr. Allocco said.

Suddenly, Christine's muscles grew very weak. She couldn't hold up a fork long enough to bring her food to her mouth. With the muscle weakness, she also began to feel drowsy again.

"Erik, I think we should go back-" Christine began to say. Each word was spoken slightly softer and slower until she gave in and fell asleep at the table.

Erik placed his hand on her back and shook his head. He didn't want that to happen again. Dr. Allocco leaned in closer to Christine with a worried look on his face.

"Does this happen frequently?" he asked, turning to Erik.

"It only happened a few times in the past, but it seems to be happening more often," Erik said.

Dr. Allocco shook Christine until she woke up. He immediately looked her straight in the eyes and studied her face. She was even more pale than usual. 

"Christine, can you come with me for a moment?" he said.

Christine followed the doctor over to a table on the other side of the room.

"How often do you get drowsy like this?"he asked.

"I feel sleep-deprived almost every moment of every day," she began. "But, I just started falling asleep like this."

"Have you ever experienced sleep paralysis?"

"Yes, I experience it almost every morning."

"How about cataplexy?" 

"Yes, I often feel very weak."

"Do you ever have hypnagogic hallucinations?"

"Yes, and some of them feel very real."

Dr. Allocco continued to ask her many questions until he knew for sure what was wrong with her. Erik grew anxious as he was sitting and waiting with Richard. 

"Are you he husband?" Dr. Allocco asked Erik as he led Christine back to her original seat.

"Yes, my name is Erik Destler," he said.

"Well, Erik. It seems as thought Christine has narcolepsy," Dr. Allocco said, looking a bit concerned.

"What is that?" Erik asked.

"It is a chronic neurological disorder. It causes her to have less control over her urge to nap at random times. It also affects her sleep in a few other ways."

"How can you be sure that she has this disorder?" Erik questioned.

"Sir, I happen to know the man that named the disorder. I am sure that she is suffering through it," the doctor insisted. "I can't help her now, but I would suggest that you find someone that can when you make it home."

It was in that moment when the boat finally pulled into the dock that was located next to Setting the Sun Island. Erik and Christine quickly ran up to their bedroom and grabbed their belongings. They then headed toward the line of people waiting to get off of the boat.

Christine enjoyed the scenery that island provided. There were large palm trees all along the coastline, and several beautiful rose bushes along the path that led to the hotel. 

Erik guided Christine into the room that Nadir had said they would be staying in. When he found room G27, he opened the door to unveil the most beautiful room he had ever laid eyes on. 

Directly across from the doorway, there was a medium sized lounge that had two couches and a small table in between them. There was a counter that pointed towards the bathroom, which was far from mediocre. The bedroom had one large bed and two bedside tables neatly placed on either side of it. There was also a large body mirror across from the bed. But, the balcony was the perhaps the best part. It had vines twisted through the railing that enclosed it. There were two chairs that were placed facing towards the beautiful view of the ocean.

"Erik," Christine began to say. "I think we should stay here forever."


	7. Playful Angels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erik and Christine enjoy their new room together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by mikgif4everr on wattpad and edited by myself and makeawish-aesthetic on tumblr.

Erik looked at Christine and smiled.

"I'm glad that you love the room. Maybe I could work some of my magic on the owner of this place," Erik said. He didn't really mean for it to be a sexual innuendo, but it kind of was anyway.

Christine looked at Erik with so much joy in her eyes. Erik embraced her and kissed her on her medium sized lips. Christine willingly kissed him back. Christine loved Erik so much, but she didn't realize what she was doing. She didn't notice until Erik noticed.

"Whoa, what are you doing, Angel?" Erik began. "I mean, I'm down for it if you are."

Christine realized what she had started and felt guilty. She had told Erik that Raoul never took her virginity, as she wanted to save it until she was ready to have children. She had told him that this was why he abused her, and she felt that she deserved it because she had such a strange wish.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what got into me," she began. "I really love you, but-" Christine said as she allowed her voice fade away.

"It's okay, my love. I just don't want you to break the promise you made for yourself," Erik said.

Erik felt bad that he had to hold her back, but he knew how much her morals mattered to her. He hesitated though, because he knew how much she loved him.

Christine began to say something, but Erik picked her up because she knew she was about to pass out again. He felt her body go limp in his arms and proceeded to carry her to the bed.

"Goodnight, my Angel," Erik said softly in her ear. He then kissed her and laid down beside her on the bed. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close to his body. They stayed like that all night. 

The next morning, Erik woke up still holding Christine close to him. He gently shook her awake and smiled at the sight of her beautiful face.

"Good morning, my trapdoor lover," she said quietly. "What happened to me last night?"

"You fell asleep again while you were talking," Erik said as he looked down at her.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I feel horrible now," Christine said, feeling slightly guilty.

Erik walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He rested his head on her shoulder. He then kissed her neck softly and turned around so she was facing him.

"Look, you don't need to apologize for what happened last night. You have no control over it, and I understand that," Erik said so she understood that she had no reason to apologize to him. He loved her more than ever.

"I'm kind of getting hungry, Erik. Can we go for breakfast now?" Christine said.

Erik laughed at her because she had the cutest begging face on. She noticed that he was laughing at her quietly.

"Why are you laughing at me?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing," he said with a smirk on his face.

Christine was confused and wanted to find out why he was laughing, so she pulled his mask off and walked away with it. She went to the other side of the room and opened to door to the balcony.

"If you want your mask before we go to breakfast, you're going to have to tell me why you're laughing at me," she said playfully.

Erik started towards her, but she ran away to another side of the room.

"Come here, Angel," Erik began. "Or is this Angel playing hard to get?"

"Maybe, my love. Come and catch me," Christine said, giggling. She had a big smile spread across her face.

Erik chased her into a corner. Christine tried to run away, but her muscles were getting weaker.

"Oh, now I've got you cornered," Erik said.

"Yeah, you do. But first-" Christine began.

Erik looked at her with a confused facial expression. She knew that he was going to get mad if she didn't give the mask back.

"But first, catch me!" she said after she caught her breath.

Erik was running towards he, and picked her up off of the ground. He spun her in a circle.

"I love you so much, my Angel of Music," Christine said after he put her down. She stood up on the tips of her feet and planted a soft kiss on the area where his lips would be. She was almost too short to reach him.

"You don't even know how much I love you," Erik said in return. 

Christine laughed and hugged him around the waist. Erik returned the embrace.

"How about we go for breakfast now, Angel," he said.

"That would be great," she replied, with an even larger smile spreading on her delicate face.


	8. Truthfully

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christine gets caught in a strange situation and a bit of truth is revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by me and edited by makeawish-aesthetic on tumblr.

Christine shot awake after hearing a knock at the door. She looked over at the spot on the bed where Erik should have been, only to see that an alarm clock had taken his spot. It was 3 am, so she wondered who would be knocking at the door at such a late hour.

"Erik?" Christine said as she opened the door to a tall and slender figure.

"It is me, Angel," Erik said as he entered the room. "I was having trouble sleeping, so I went down to the kitchen and got a glass of water."

Christine pecked his cheek and gestured for him to follow her back to the bed. 

"Wait," Erik said.

Christine froze in her spot. She looked up into his devilish eyes. He was smirking flirtatiously at her. 

"I want to show you something, mademoiselle," he said, reaching his hand out to take hers.

Christine followed him out of the bedroom and into the hotel lobby. He quickly snatched the rope from the counter and placed it into one of his deep pockets. 

"What is that for?" Christine questioned. 

"We'll need something to tie the horse up with," Erik answered as he walked outside to the spot where a familiar horse was standing.

They both mounted the horse and began riding through the fog. They were headed towards the other side of the island.

Christine looked down at the horse. His white coat glowed in the dark of the night. After thinking for a while, she realized that it was the white horse from Le Prophete. 

"Cesar," Christine murmured. "How did you find him?"

"Apparently he was sold to the man who runs the trail rides here after the events at the opera house," Erik replied.

The horse continued running through the terrain of the island until they arrived at a mysterious looking cave. Erik and Christine dismounted the horse and entered the cave. There were candles placed neatly all around the cave walls. There was a small creek running through the center of the cave that glistened softly. As they walked deeper into the cave, Christine saw a small chair set up next to cushioned bench.

"Have a seat," Erik said, gesturing Christine towards the bench. 

She flattened her skirt beneath her and sat down gently. Erik sat down next to her and began leaning towards her.

"Wow, Erik. This is...romantic," Christine said, still a bit confused. "But, why are you doing this?"

"I want to make this fantasy a reality," Erik said. 

Erik leaned in even more until the tips of their noses were touching. He was teasing her. 

"Hmm," Erik began. "I don't know if this Angel deserves any more affection today."

Christine shot her 'begging face' at him, and he gave in. He pressed his masked face into her human face. They stayed that way for a moment, with their tongues perfectly in sync. But, something didn't seem right to Christine. His non-existent lips didn't taste the same.

She pulled away and looked into his eyes. They didn't glow the way that they usually did in the darkness. She tried to deny that something was wrong by telling herself that it was only because the room was lit unevenly, but Erik had already noticed that she was catching on to his plan.

"Have a seat in the chair, Angel," he said as he slowly stood up.

Christine hesitated, but she obeyed him.

"What are you doing?" she asked him politely.

"I already told you," he began. "I'm making this fantasy a reality."

Erik pulled the rope that he never tied the horse up with out of his pocket. He began tightly tying it around Christine and the chair. Before he could tie the knot around her arms, she reached up and ripped the mask off of his face the unveil the face of the Viscount.

"Wh-" Christine began to shout. She was cut off by a single piece of tape being placed over her mouth.

"I'll be doing all of the talking tonight," said Raoul de Chagny as he stepped back.

He pulled a bottle of wine out of his pocket and carefully opened it. He then poured a bit of it into a shot glass and held it up to Christine's nose.

"This is the same kind of wine that I had bought for us on our wedding night," he began. "You were so happy on that day. In fact, you even gave consent before you were drunk."

Christine closed her eyes. She knew that there was nothing she could do. She just sat and prayed for an Angel to come.

"He knows your secret, Christine," Raoul said. "Why don't you just tell him? You wouldn't want to lie to him like you did to me. You know how that turned out."

Raoul sat next to her and laughed to himself. He was thinking of every single lie that she had ever told Erik. He wanted to see their relationship crash and burn like a fiery purgatory.

"Christine! Christine!" shouted a voice that sounded very similar to Erik's.

Christine suddenly was given the strength to free herself from the ropes that kept her from seeing her Angel. She stood up and ripped the tape from her face. She turned to run back to Erik, but she found herself back in the safety of her hotel bedroom.

"Christine, why were you sobbing in your sleep," Erik said when he saw that she had finally woken up.

"I don't know," Christine said, trying to recall what had just happened. "I must have had a nightmare."

Erik pulled her closer to him. She gave in to the warmth that was his body and embraced him tightly. She felt her salty tears flooding back into her eyes and didn't hesitate to let them fall. There was no controlling this strong, hateful emotion. But, she also felt a harmony of guilt mixing perfectly with the hate. Had Erik really known her secret?

"Would you mind telling me what happened in the dream?" Erik asked after he felt a large wet spot from her tears form on the spot just below his shoulder.

"Ask me again tomorrow," Christine said, allowing more tears to fall. "But, may I tell you something that has been welling up inside me for a while?"

"Of course, what is it?" Erik asked. He pushed Christine so she was looking directly at him.

"I'm not really a virgin," she said softly. She was embarrassed to admit that she had lied to him.

"That's okay," Erik said. He was going to call her out for lying, but he remembered that he had lied to her as well.

"I only lied because I didn't want you to worry about me," Christine began. "But, I meant to tell you the truth after we were married. I guess I just never brought myself to actually do it."

"Well, you're doing it now, and that's all that matters," Erik said. He pulled her back into an embrace. 

The minimal degree of love that could be shown was a crush, but Erik looked at Christine in adoration, which was the most extreme degree of love.


	9. Blueberry Pancakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mostly fluff, with a side of angst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by mikgif4everr on wattpad and edited by makeawish-aesthetic on tumblr.

Christine felt better and happy that she didn't have to keep a lie from Erik anymore. She looked at him and smiled.

"Thank you for understanding me, Erik," she said. 

Erik was still a bit uneasy, because he didn't know how many more lies she was hiding.

"I must trust you and hope there aren't any more," Erik said.

"Why do you say that?" Christine said, feeling a bit hurt that he would say such a thing.

"I said that because I love you and I want to trust you, my Angel," Erik said in an attempt to change the subject.

He laid down on the bed and sighed. Christine did the same, but turned to look at him. She snuggled up to him and soon fell asleep. Erik tried to fall asleep again, but he just couldn't. He had so many things running through his mind, and he started to get a headache. Fortunately, he did fall asleep at 5:45 am.

When Erik woke up, he looked over to find that Christine wasn't in bed anymore. He heard a clang in the kitchen, and assumed that it was Christine making breakfast. She didn't really like the hotel food. He walked out into the kitchen and sat down at the table. He looked over and saw Christine making blueberry pancakes.

"I see that you are making some pancakes for our breakfast," he said to Christine.

"Yes, I am. I hope you don't mind, but the ingredients were here, and I don't like the other food here," she said as she turned around.

Erik felt his stomach growl as he stood up and walked towards her. He stood beside her and looked at her with light in his eyes. Christine saw him looking and leaned her body against his. She giggled and then suddenly felt her muscles weaken. She tried to put her knife down. Erik saw this and held her by the waist to make sure she wouldn't fall. Christine looked up at him.

"I'm fine, my Angel," she said.

Erik didn't want to let go of her because he was afraid that she would pass out, but he had to trust her. He let go after a minute. He looked back at her and gave her a worried look.

"Are you sure that you are okay?" he asked.

"Yes dear, I'm really going to be okay," she said, rolling her eyes.

Suddenly, her muscles gave in and she dropped the knife, cutting her arm.

"Erik!" she screamed in pain.

Erik shot up from the table and held out her arm. There was blood running down her arm.

"You stay here, I'll be right back. I have to get the first aid kit!" he said.

As he grabbed the kit, he tripped and fell. His mask fell off, but he stood up and ran back to Christine. She was sitting down and crying. Erik got the bandages out and started to wrap them around the cut.

"Erik, I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at me," she said.

"You don't need to apologize. It's going to be okay," he said as he looked at her. 

Erik began to sing a familiar song. Christine recognized it as the Music of the Night. She wiped away her tears and began to sing with him. She hadn't sang in a while as she was afraid that the Viscount wouldn't like her singing anymore. But, Erik's voice blended with hers perfectly. It made the most beautiful sound ever heard.

"Are you okay, Angel," Erik said when he finished wrapping the cut.

"I am now that my Angel of Music was here to save me," she said, smiling.

Erik gently set her down on the bed and sat beside her. He pulled her closer to him so he could kiss her. Christine kissed back and positioned herself in Erik's lap. As the kiss got more passionate, Erik became slightly aroused. Christine broke away for a moment.

"Erik, I love you so much," she said. 

Erik smiled and nodded at her. He fell back into the kiss. Their bodies collapsed into the bed, and Christine began to kiss Erik's neck. She sat up and rolled over so her back was on the bed. Erik rolled on top of her.

"Do you want to do this? I don't want to if you aren't ready," he said.

Christine thought for a moment.

"Maybe another time. We need to eat our breakfast," she said softly.

Erik sat up and picked her up, walking her to the kitchen. Christine got off of his lap and grabbed the food so they could both eat. Erik said something that Christine didn't quite hear.

"What did you say, my Angel?" she asked.

"Nothing, sweetheart. I love you and I just want to make you happy," he said, looking up at her.

"I'm happy and I love you too."


End file.
